The Navy is now allowing tubular light emitting diode (T-LED) lamps to replace traditional fluorescent light bulbs in facilities, according to a July 14 memo obtained by Defense Daily.
The memo, from Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NFEC), supersedes a previous ban that prohibited T-LED lamp replacements in facilities for the Navy and Marine Corps. A source tells Defense Daily facilities were previously prohibited from replacing fluorescent lighting with T-LED lamps unless the entire light fixture was replaced.
The memo says T-LED lighting may be used to replace fluorescent lamps when the resulting system does not create a safety hazard or degrade lighting performance in the space. The Navy decrees in the memo that to prevent degrading the lighting performance, the replacement T-LED bulb must be compatible with the existing ballast and be equivalent to the light levels of the existing system, or meet the lighting levels as specified in Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) 03-530-01 that define lighting levels in the space at the work plane.
The Navy, in the memo, also directs that replacement T-LED bulbs must not have mechanical or electrical changes to the fixture that would void the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) rating. Luminaire conversion retrofit kits that are UL listed under the product category luminaire conversions, retrofit (IEUQ) are acceptable, the Navy says.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) in March asked the Navy to consider using T-LED lighting in facilities. Warner asked Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment Dennis McGinn for the technology to be added to the UFC so facilities could access the technology (Defense Daily, March 24).
T-LED lighting is already being installed on Navy ships as they provide safety and efficiency advantages over legacy fluorescent lighting, which must be replaced regularly and be disposed of properly due to mercury levels found in bulbs. More efficient T-LED lighting can also provide energy savings.
The Navy currently uses T-LED on its installations in places such as administrative buildings, athletic facilities, street lights and parking garages. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) started pilots programs a few years ago to test commercially-available technology and see how they worked on ships.
Energy Focus of Ohio is one company that has developed a possible solution for new lighting. The company said its product, called the IntelliTube LED fixture, doesn’t contains glass nor hazardous materials, requires no additional removal nor storage costs and uses 50 percent less power. Energy Focus said in December it received a $6 million order from the Navy for the company’s Intellitube LED retrofit tubes.
Energy Focus expects to deliver the product through the first half of this year. Energy Focus was awarded $4.1 million by the Navy in the first quarter of 2014, the bulk of funding for its IntelliTube LED fixture (Defense Daily; July 31, 2014).